Celebrating being able to give Roger the salute he so royally deserves. From my perch last night.
Cross posted from another thread..if anything can suffer a little redundancy....
I generally like the Around the NFL podcast (which is the NFL.com beatwriters). Their recap episode is basically 70 minutes of them sitting in a studio at 2am walking through the comeback, using the Socci/Zolak radio calls for highlights. The moderator is a salty Jets fan, and one of the writers is a Pats fan.
http://www.nfl.com/podcasts?series=aroundtheleague-podcast (and itunes etc)
http://www.nfl.com/podcasts?series=aroundtheleague-podcast (and itunes etc)
Why is this team the best? BB at his presser answering a question about soaking it in and even re-naming his boat:
"The reality is, we're 5 weeks behind everyone else in preparing for 2017"
"The reality is, we're 5 weeks behind everyone else in preparing for 2017"
This game really was so strange. Even when the Pats were losing 28-3, they were ahead in yards, first downs, and time of possession. So they were kind of controlling the game. Three monster mistakes, however:
- The Blount fumble, when it looked like the Pats were marching down to score.
- The Brady pick-six, when it looked like the Pats were marching down to score and all of a sudden it's 7 points the other way.
- The Bennett hold, which cost them 4 points.
Then the Pats' D clamped down, the offense really got rolling, and they started making plays, instead of mistakes.
The final numbers actually are the kind of numbers that suggest a HUGE Patriots' blowout win:
Total Yards: NE 546, Atl 344
First Downs: NE 37, Atl 17
3rd Downs: NE 7-14, Atl 1-8
Total Plays: NE 93, Atl 46
Time of Possession: NE 40:31, Atl 23:27
I mean, in all those ways, that looks like a game that the Patriots would win by at least two touchdowns, if not more.
So we can look at this game one way and say, boy, they were incredibly fortunate to pull it out. But looking at it another way, you say, my goodness, they pretty much dominated the Falcons, and if it wasn't for a few uncharacteristic mistakes, they probably blow them out.
- The Blount fumble, when it looked like the Pats were marching down to score.
- The Brady pick-six, when it looked like the Pats were marching down to score and all of a sudden it's 7 points the other way.
- The Bennett hold, which cost them 4 points.
Then the Pats' D clamped down, the offense really got rolling, and they started making plays, instead of mistakes.
The final numbers actually are the kind of numbers that suggest a HUGE Patriots' blowout win:
Total Yards: NE 546, Atl 344
First Downs: NE 37, Atl 17
3rd Downs: NE 7-14, Atl 1-8
Total Plays: NE 93, Atl 46
Time of Possession: NE 40:31, Atl 23:27
I mean, in all those ways, that looks like a game that the Patriots would win by at least two touchdowns, if not more.
So we can look at this game one way and say, boy, they were incredibly fortunate to pull it out. But looking at it another way, you say, my goodness, they pretty much dominated the Falcons, and if it wasn't for a few uncharacteristic mistakes, they probably blow them out.
Late in the game I looked at the box score on my phone and saw that Atlanta had only run 46 plays. 28 points on 46 plays. Crazy.
Atlanta 1-8 on third down. If they convert even one more Atlanta probably scores again and/or the Pats probably do not have enough time to come back and win.
Kind of reminds me of Bs vs. Canucks - came down to Game 7, but the Bs had enough of a plus goal differential to make 3-3 a headscratcher
If it helps, they're even closer to 7-0.
Actually, that just makes me sweat even more.
This reminds me of the 2004 ALCS, both in the moment and with the benefit of hindsight. In the moment? Biggest, most amazing comeback in the history of the sport at that stage. In hindsight? Still the former, but it's just as surprising that they were ever that far down to begin with, based on the actual talent level and general level of execution from the two teams heading into the game/series.
Gives me a cold sweat to think about how close Brady and BB are to being 7-0
Ok maybe not a cold sweat. More like
Ok maybe not a cold sweat. More like
I don't think you can do this at all. While Atlanta didn't go super conservative, they certainly seemed to play to the clock a bit and I don't think the game plays the same if the score hadn't been so lopsided. Those with access to the all-22 could confirm but it certainly looked like they backed off quite a bit defensively for a while there in an effort to trade yards for time. The game just played out in a way where Atlanta sort of had to try to manage the clock and dare the Patriots to do the most improbable thing possible. Unfortunately for them, they did, and doubly unfortunately for them they neglected to do the most important thing when you make that choice which is to play mistake free error free situational football.
Their offense only managed 21 points. I think every single one of us would have happily taken that at the start of the game, right?
Another indication that it was a strange game.
I was convinced before the game, that other than there being some kind of crazy lopsided turnover differential, the one stat that would completely tell the story was Atlanta's third down efficiency.
If you told me before the game that Atlanta would be 1-8, I would have been partying about the blowout.
Strange game indeed.
Until I was in my twenties, I could only imagine how amazing it would be if the Pats won just one Super Bowl. Even getting there in '85 was spectacular.
Now, after last night, the Patriots officially have "B Side" Super Bowl wins. The Eagles one? Yeah, that was okay...
This organization has reached unimaginable heights.
Now, after last night, the Patriots officially have "B Side" Super Bowl wins. The Eagles one? Yeah, that was okay...
This organization has reached unimaginable heights.
In the 21st century, New England is the only region with championships in each of the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB. New England has the most total championships in those four leagues in the 21st century (10; LA/Anaheim is second with 8, while having 6 teams to New England's 4). San Antonio has the most championships per team in the 21st century, because they have one team (Spurs) with four titles. New England is second with 2.5 championships per team. There are eight regions with four or more combined championships; the other five are Chicago (5) and NYC/NJ, PIT, MIA, and SF/OAK/SJ, all with 4.
.
.
Rewatching some old 3 Games to Glory films yesterday before the game, I started thinking that in some alternate universe Ricky Proehl is mentioned in the same breath as Bucky Dent and Aaron Boone after scoring game-tying, walk-in touchdowns in two Super Bowls in three years with two different teams. Thank god for Brady and Vinatieri.
I kept thinking of this quote as the game went on. From BB on Jan 31st:
(On monitoring player's energy throughout this ultimate game)
"That's a very challenging situation because there is so much leading up to the game. It's such a long game between pregame, the start of the game, halftime, TV timeouts and so forth. It just extends longer than what it normally does including the pregame part of it. We just try and pace ourselves through that. Some of that is nutrition, hydration and things like that. Part of it is an understanding of what it's going to be like so you don't get surprised and get into the middle of the game or the middle of the third quarter. That's kind of when the game would be ending but there's still another 20 minutes to play or so. I think understanding that and making sure that the pace of the game for each individual, which is different, for an offensive line or defensive line, the pace is a little different than receivers or defensive backs that are running 30, 40, 50 yards to cover. It's the difference between boxing and distance running. Then, you have a lot of guys in between. It's definitely challenging but it's the same for both teams. It's the same environment. Everyone needs to try and maximize all those things I just talked about. Their rest, attentiveness and pace so they don't burn out too soon. It's a challenge. This game is unlike any other that way.
Pats definitely won that last 20 minutes!
(On monitoring player's energy throughout this ultimate game)
"That's a very challenging situation because there is so much leading up to the game. It's such a long game between pregame, the start of the game, halftime, TV timeouts and so forth. It just extends longer than what it normally does including the pregame part of it. We just try and pace ourselves through that. Some of that is nutrition, hydration and things like that. Part of it is an understanding of what it's going to be like so you don't get surprised and get into the middle of the game or the middle of the third quarter. That's kind of when the game would be ending but there's still another 20 minutes to play or so. I think understanding that and making sure that the pace of the game for each individual, which is different, for an offensive line or defensive line, the pace is a little different than receivers or defensive backs that are running 30, 40, 50 yards to cover. It's the difference between boxing and distance running. Then, you have a lot of guys in between. It's definitely challenging but it's the same for both teams. It's the same environment. Everyone needs to try and maximize all those things I just talked about. Their rest, attentiveness and pace so they don't burn out too soon. It's a challenge. This game is unlike any other that way.
Pats definitely won that last 20 minutes!
The Eagles game wasn't even as close as the score indicated. Garbarge time touchdown to cut the lead from 24-14 to 24-21 and even when the Eagles got the ball back with 46 seconds left at their own 4. There was little hope they were going to move the ball into field goal range.
Keep in mind that I pointed out that even when the Pats were down 28-3, they were ahead in yards, first downs, and time of possession. It was the three huge uncharacteristic mistakes that had done them in to that point, but overall, they were, in some ways, outplaying Atlanta. Not on the scoreboard, obviously, but there were signs.
On my phone so apologies for the lack of a link but Shea Serrano (who I think is one of the best sports "columnists" around) had this gem in a good cotext:
"Death always comes. So does Belichick."
"Death always comes. So does Belichick."
Reminds me of something that someone on NFL network said this morning. He said that the Patriots are like cockroaches. You can't get rid of them. If there were a nuclear war, somehow the Patriots would survive and would be playing in the Super Bowl.
To be fair they put the ball on the ground a lot this year. They recovered many of them though so it doesn't stand out as an issue.
"As great as today feels ... we're five weeks behind the other teams for the 2017 season," Belichick said at a press conference Monday.
I cried (like a bitch) after Butler's pick in 49. This one...I was just numb. In the 3rd quarter down 25 points, I found peace in the amazing run of four Super Bowls and the embarrassment of riches that I've basked in from being a Patriots fan for my 43 years on this planet. And then stuff started happening and kept happening until it became clear they were going to win that fucking game. I am in awe of that coach, QB and organization, and their spectacular ability to simply win.
I don't know what it was like to be a Celtics fan alive in the 60's, but this...this is fun.
I don't know what it was like to be a Celtics fan alive in the 60's, but this...this is fun.
That's true. Six out of seven with the winning score coming in the last two minutes is still nuts.
Something little I didn't notice until watching this (cheesy) video: as folks were starting to run back to the middle of the field, LGBT *flies* across the screen into the endzone, towards White.
Seriously, that might be the fastest I've ever seen him run.
Seriously, that might be the fastest I've ever seen him run.
haha I actually wondered if he was on the field for the play when the first replays were shown, that's how fast he got there
Well, for those of you looking for an easy night, at least the Pats delivered their biggest margin of victory in a SB for you.
Something that bothered me during the broadcast was Buck and Aikman talking about how that pass to Bennett was "underthrown". It was perfectly thrown to the back shoulder, Brady wasn't trying to lead him into the endzone. Even with the egregious contact, Bennett was in great position to make a play on the ball, just couldn't hang on.
New York area doesn't have an NBA championship in the last 5 decades, let alone the 21st century.
Here's the thing. They've been so consistently great that if we replayed the last 16 years 1000x the Pats almost certainly always come out with somewhere between 3 and 8 trophies and probably average around five...but it might be a completely different five.
No they weren't. They were getting crushed in yards per play and were -2 in turnovers. Getting crushed in yards per play and losing the turnover battle while being down 28-3 isnt indicative of outplaying your opponent.
This is really a fact. 2006 and 2015 are both years they could have easily won the SB.(get the 3rd down against the Colts, get the 2 pt conversion and win in OT against the Broncos) 2001 could have been a loss. Obviously both Giants games could have been wins. And Carolina, Seattle, and Atlanta could have been losses.
Feels like five is fair value or pretty close to it, but got there in a bit of a peculiar way. Talking about the Patriots luck the last two Super Bowls while ignoring they had to be pretty unlucky to not ship one between 2005 and 2013 is a scalding hot take.
And that luck in 2015 and 2017 includes five 4th Q or OT GOAT drives. Five. Cinco.
A few years back someone posted some data about how many seasons during the BB/TB12-era various teams have won so many games, conference championships, etc. I've put together some similar data and, because I love plots, I made plots. The "wins numbering" refer to regular-season only. I'll spoiler them for space reasons.
It just occurred to me that the Patriots scored four touchdowns without a single successful XP kick (miss, 2-pt, 2-pt, walkoff). I wonder if that has ever happened before.
This thread started in September of 2015. Since then, NE(coming off a SB title) lost a heartbreaker to Denver in the AFCCG and then won the Super Bowl with the biggest comeback, by a mile, in the history of the Bowl.
Who knows where the Pats are in two years? But this thread has good mojo.
Who knows where the Pats are in two years? But this thread has good mojo.
